178 Pecan-Growing 



tained. They often attack wood foundations of buildings and 

 do considerable damage. This species also attacks live plants, 

 especially the tap-roots of young pecan trees when these are 

 set on newly cleared land in close proximity to decayed forest 

 tree roots containing wood-lice, and when litter, leaves, and 

 straw containing dead twigs, as mulch, are hauled in from 

 the woods and spread around the young trees. 



Termites live in colonies and, on account of their under- 

 ground habits of feeding, often attack a small pecan tree 

 and completely hollow out the tap-root and extend their 

 feeding gallery up into the main stem before the damage 

 is discovered. They rarely cause trouble to pecans on land 

 free of decaying parts of forest trees, and do very little 

 harm to trees of considerable size. Their chief damage is 

 to newly set trees for a pecan orchard, and to young seed- 

 lings in the nursery when grafting is practiced. 



Control, 



When colonies of termites can be located, they may 

 be destroyed by fumigating with carbon disulfide. How- 

 ever, the simplest method of control is to keep pecans off the 

 land until most of the remains of the forest trees have been 

 cleared away or decayed completely and to use no litter from 

 the woods as mulch. 



JUNE-BUGS 



{PhyllopTiaga sp.) 

 June-bugs sometimes become injurious to pecan trees, and 

 when they do the damage is considerable. The June-bug is 

 the adult of a common grub-worm, which is found in pas- 

 tures and grass lands and in old rotten stumps. It attacks 



